School of Sustainability
Organisational unit: Research School
- Centre for Sustainability Management (CSM)
- Institute of Ecology
- Institute of Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research
- Institute of Sustainability Governance
- Institute of Sustainability Material Flows and Circularity
- Institute of Sustainability Psychology
- Institute of Sustainable Chemistry
- Social-Ecological Systems Institute (SESI)
- Sustainability Education and Transdisciplinary Research Institute
Organisation profile
Sustainability has many facets. Inter- and transdisciplinary research and teaching characterize the School of Sustainability. Scientists in our research projects work together in the laboratory, on the heath, in the grassland, in the classroom, with the city administration, with farmers, with non-governmental organizations, with companies, with students in the lecture hall and of course at their desks.
Furthermore, we work with regional and national political actors, e.g. ministries, as well as international organizations, e.g. UNEP, UNESCO, EU. We are part of national and international bodies, e.g. sustainability advisory boards of companies, member of the German Sustainability Award, World Biodiversity Council (IPBES), in order to contribute to social change with scientific findings.
Main research areas
Vision
Sustainability science investigates on a theoretical, conceptual and empirical level how to promote sustainable development and how to find and implement effective solutions for current social and ecological challenges. The aim is to create a more sustainable future.
Sustainability researchers are called upon to take responsibility for their research, which is anchored in existing scientific knowledge and methods and serves to make the world a better place for everyone.
Mission
We promote change towards a sustainable future by developing theories, concepts and practices of inclusive education for sustainability, research, governance and management.
We acknowledge the diversity and dynamics of values, norms and behaviour and contribute with transdisciplinary methods to ensuring that tensions and differences between different disciplines, methods, topics and standards are fruitfully taken up and used with productive compromises and further developments towards sustainable development.
Principles
The School of Sustainability is guided by the normative concepts of ecological system integrity and social and economic justice.
Ecological system integrity refers to the safeguarding of life-support systems, as well as the maintenance of the well-being of life on Earth.
With social and economic justice we strive for a world in which all people can fulfil their potential without endangering system integrity and the well-being of others.
Information about the School
The School of Sustainability includes...
... ca. 25 professors
... ca. 100 research assistants
... ca. 1000 students in Bachelor and Master courses
In various inter- and transdisciplinary projects we are constantly researching and working together on changes and solutions for current challenges.
- Published
Many pathways toward sustainability: not conflict but co-learning between transition narratives
Lüderitz, C., Abson, D. J., Audet, R. & Lang, D. J., 01.05.2017, In: Sustainability Science. 12, 3, p. 393-407 15 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Many roads lead to sustainability: A process-oriented analysis of change in higher education
Barth, M., 04.2013, In: International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. 14, 2, p. 160-175 16 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Transfer
- Published
Mapping and analysing historical indicators of ecosystem services in Germany
Dittrich, A., von Wehrden, H., Abson, D. J., Bartkowski, B., Cord, A. F., Fust, P., Hoyer, C., Kambach, S., Meyer, M. A., Radzevičiūtė, R., Nieto-Romero, M., Seppelt, R. & Beckmann, M., 01.04.2017, In: Ecological Indicators. 75, p. 101-110 10 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Mapping and assessing the knowledge base of ecological restoration
Heger, T., Jeschke, J., Febria, C., Kollmann, J., Murphy, S. D., Rochefort, L., Shackelford, N., Temperton, V. & Higgs, E., 11.2024, In: Restoration Ecology. 32, 8, 10 p., e13676.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Mapping a sustainable future: Community learning in dialogue at the science–society interface
Barth, M., Lang, D. J., Luthardt, P. & Vilsmaier, U., 01.12.2017, In: International Review of Education. 63, 6, p. 811 - 828 18 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Mapping Complexity in Environmental Governance: A comparative analysis of 37 priority issues in German water management
Kirschke, S., Borchardt, D. & Newig, J., 01.11.2017, In: Environmental Policy and Governance. 27, 6, p. 534 - 559 26 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Mapping ecosystem services in Colombia: Analysis of synergies, trade-offs and bundles in environmental management
Burgos-Ayala, A., Jiménez-Aceituno, A., Meacham, M., Rozas-Vásquez, D., Mancilla García, M., Rocha, J. & Rincón-Ruíz, A., 01.04.2024, In: Ecosystem Services. 66, 13 p., 101608.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Mapping giant honey bee nests in Palawan, Philippines through a transdisciplinary approach
Matias, D. M. S., Stellmacher, T., Borgemeister, C., Cayron, J. G. & von Wehrden, H., 03.10.2017, In: Development in Practice: stimulating thought for action. 27, 7, p. 903-912 10 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Mapping relative risk for biodiversity from the application of pesticides, focusing on pollinators
Sørensen, P., Gyldenkærne, S., Potts, S. G., Brittain, C. & Thomsen, M., 2010, Atlas of biodiversity risk. Settele, J., Penev, L., Georgiev, T., Grabaum, R., Grobelnik, V., Hammen, V., Klotz, S., Kotarac, M. & Kuhn, I. (eds.). Sofia: Pensoft Publishers Ltd., p. 228 1 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Education
- Published
Mapping the Links of Corporate Sustainability: Sustainability Balanced Scorecards as a Tool for Sustainability Performance Measurement and Management
Wagner, M. & Schaltegger, S., 08.09.2017, Managing the Business Case for Sustainability: The Integration of Social, Environmental and Economic Performance. Schaltegger, S. & Wagner, M. (eds.). Sheffield: Greenleaf Publishing, p. 108-126 21 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research